Artist Statement
“The Louise Taylor Listening Device” is built around a primitive listening device and an accompanying blog that investigates a tale of love and loss. This multifaceted installation negotiates the relationship between reality and historic fiction. Unearthed in 2011 during Atlanta BeltLine construction, this“urban relic” is the core of a narrative centered on Louise Taylor. The blog indicates she followed the love of her life to Atlanta from rural Alabama in 1968, only to be widowed six months later.She plunged into a life of sadness that led her to construct this“part ear trumpet/part folk art sculpture” in an attempt to hear from her departed loved one.
Artist Bio
Terry Hardy addresses themes of identity, human rights, sexuality, and religion, examining social concerns through painting, sculpture, and installations. His most recent work focuses on the intimacy of loss and memorializing those who are forgotten.His work has been included in over 75 exhibitions in venues throughout the US and abroad, including Lincoln Center in New York, The Mint Museum of Art in Charlotte, NC, and The Historic Freedom Riders Museum in Montgomery, AL. Hardy has presented large scale public works at the Art Prospect Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, the National Center for Contemporary Art in Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia, the Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta, GA and in Art in Odd Places in New York and Sydney, Australia.